Hinged lid and hood support for motor vehicles



Feb. 9, 1954 w. R. usns HINGED LID AND HOOD SUPPORT FOR MOIbR VEHICLES Filed Dec. 16, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Feb. 9, 1954 w. RQLUSTIG 2,668,320

HINGED LID AND HOOD SUPPORT FOR MOTOR VEHICLES Filed Dec. 16, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. 9, 1954 HINGED LID AND HOOD SUPPORT FOR 7 MOTOR VEHICLES Walter R. Lustig, Rockford, Ill., asslgnor to Atwood Vacuum Machine Company, Rockford, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application December 16, 1947, Serial No. 792,033

Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in hinge connections generally, and more particularly of the type in which the butt members are connected together by arms that are geared together for joint operation, the present devices having been designed more particularly for use either with the raisable and lowerable hood provided over the engine on the front of some of the later models of motor vehicles, or with the similarly operable lid provided on the rear trunk compartment of most motor vehicles, the invention being however, also applicable to any other hingedly supported member adapted to be operated in a similar way.

2 The hinge support of the present invention comprises two arms that are pivotally supported at one end in spaced relation on one of two butts and have gear segments on these ends in meshed relation, causing the arms to swing in opposite directions when the hinge is operated in either an opening or closing direction, as when a lid or hood to-which the other butt may be attached is raised or lowered, on of the arms being pivotally connected to said other butt directly at one point thereon and the other having a link connection therewith at another point thereon, this construction being of special advantag for lids and hoods, for example, because of the way in which the hinged edge of such closure is first raised off its seat and sealing strip in the initial opening movement and lowered again onto said seat and sealing strip at the end of the closing movement, thereby enabling hinging of such closures where they are specially curved to conform to the curved contour of the vehicle body and where ordinary pintle hinges could not be used. The hinges provided heretofore to secure similar motion were usually of the complicated and expensive multiple link toggle construction, whereas the present hinge is of relatively simple and inexpensive construction.

An important advantage of the present hinges is the fact that-in the closing of the lid on the trunk compartment, there are no parts of the hinges caused to swing downwardly into the trunk to give rise to the danger of damaging luggage therein.

Another advantag comes from a tension spring connected at one end to the fixed butt at tre pivot of the one arm and at its other end to the outer end of the other arm, so that it is stretched in the lowering of the closure to more or less counterbalance the same against dropping violently, the line of action of the spring in the closed position of the closure being, furthermore, substantially. ona dead-center with respect to the arm to which it is attached, so that it offers substan' ially no resistance to the initial lifting of the closu e and yet its full force promptly thereafter becomes available to assist in lifting said closure.

Still another advantage comes from the'fact that the stationary butt is usually adjustably secured to the body, so that the raising and lowering movement of the hinged edge portion of the closure can be properly correlated to its ledge or seat on the body and the compressibility of the sealing strips that are interposed between the parts, usually on the ledge on the body, so that a. good weathen-tight seal is secured when the closure is closed, the adjustment also permitting an easytake-up to compensate for compression of or Wear on the sealing strips after the carha been in service for some time.

The invention is illustrated in the accompany ing drawings, in Which- Fig. 1 is a side view of the rear portion of an automobile, on which the lid of the trunk compartment, which is shown closed, is equipped with a pair of counterbalanced hinges made in accordance with my invention, as indicated partly in dotted lines and partly in elevation, where a portion of the body is broken away in order to make that possible;

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the lid in full lines in open position, to illustrate by comparison with Fig. 1 the operation of the hinges of my in}- vention, the lid being also indicated in dotted lines in several intermediate positions to show how its front end is raised in the initial opening movement for operating clearance relative to its ledge on the body as required for the further opening movement;

Fig. 3 is a cross-section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, showing the left hand hinge in rear view, and

Fig. 4 is a side view of the front end of an automobile showing how the hinges of my invention are used in connection with the raisable hood for the engine compartment.

Similar reference numerals are applied to corresponding parts in these four views.

1 Referring first to Figs. 1 t0 3, the reference numeral Ill designates the body of an automobile, and II the lid forthe rear trunk compartment. There aretwo hinge connections or supports'for the lid, the left hand one appearing in full lines at [2 in Figs. 1 and 3, and the right hand one at l3 in Fig. 2, the left hand unit being considered as broken away almost entirely in Fig. 2 to permit showing the right hand unit on the opposite side of the trunk compartment. Inasmuch as the right and left hand units are alike, except for aoeesco a? hand, I shall describe only the left hand unit, which appears mostly in Figs. 1 and 3, and apply the same reference numerals primed to corresponding parts in the right hand unit, appearing in Fig. 2. l4 and I5 designate the butts or plates fastened to the body 59 and lid l l, respectively, as by bolts l6 and H, respectively. Two arms i8 and i9 are pivoted to the butt IE on posts and 2|, respectively, and these arms have gear segments 22 and 23 formed on their pivoted ends, which are disposed in meshing engagement, so that the arms are compelled to turn simultaneously in opposite directions on their pivots'when the lid H is raised or lowered,.,as,will soon appear. The one arm I8 is pivotally connected directly to an car 24 on one end of the butt 15, as shown at 25. The other arm 19 is pivotally connected by means of a pin, as at 26, to one end of ill a link 21, the other end of which has pivotal I connection with an ear 28 on the other end of 4 the butt I5, as indicated at 29.. The pivots 20 and 26 have extensions, as shown at 30 and 3|, respectively, in Fig. 3, and to these extensions are attached the looped opposite ends. of a tension spring 32, which is stretched in the lowering of the lid, as will soon appear, to more or less counterbalance the same against dropping violently by gravity, and contrarywihe assist later in lifting, the lid. A limit stop 33 is provided in the iormioi a. lug on the butt [5 adjacent the ear 28. This stop is arranged to be engaged by a laterally embossed portion 34 on the outer end. of the. link 21- when the. lid H reaches the fully opened. po sition shown in Fig. 2.. When the lid is closed,

as shown in Fig. 1, the line of action of the. spring indicated. at 01-22 is substantially on a deadcenter with respect to the arm [9 to which the spring is attached, so that the spring. ofiers substantially no resistance to the initial lifting of the lid and yet its full force becomes available promptly thereafter to assist in lifting the lid. The spring, of course, has more and more mechanical advantage the farther the lid is raised, as should be evident from. a comparison of Figs. I and2', and that offsets the fact that the-spring exerts less and less pull the farther the lid is raised. A cross-tie piece 35 disposed in spaced parallel relation to the butt i4 interconnects the pivots '20 and 21,, and liesagainst the outer. faces of the geared ends of the arms I8 and IE to help to hold the pivots 20 and 21 rigidly in parallel relation and also serve as a guide to keep the eared'end's of thearms [8' and 19in full meshing engagement at all times.

In operation, when the lid, H is closed, as shown in Fig. 1, its front end or hinged'edge portion. 36 overlies a ledge 31 projecting rearwardly and downwardly at an acute angle with respect to the horizontal and compresses a rubber sealing strip 38' which is supported in a channel 39 formed on the outer edge portion of theledge 31. There is a continuation of this channel 39* along the opposite sides of the trunk compartment, as indicated at' 40 in Fig; 3, and rubber sealing strips 4| are provided in these channels also and, are compressed by the l'ateraiedgeportions 42' of the lid in its closed position, so as to seal the joints at'those places also for protection of'the' luggage in the trunk compartment. The hinge units l'2 and" 13- have their butts" l t-M" and |5-l'5 slotted, as indicated at 63 and M, to permit'up and down adjustment of the butts l4 and M relativ-eto the body and fore and aft adjustment ofthe lid relative to the butts 1'5 and Hi. In that way the raising and loweringmovement of the hinged edge portion 36 of the li'dcanbe s properly correlated to the ledge or seat 31 on the body and also with respect to the compressibility of the sealing strips 33 and 4| that are interposed between the parts and thus assure a good weather-tight seal when the lid is closed, such adjustability also permitting an easy take-up to compensate for compression of or wearv on the sealing strips after the car has been in service for some time. In the raising of the lid, due to the fact that the arms i3l8' swing upwardly immediately, the hinged edge 33 is first raised off the ledge 37 and sealing strip 38, as clearly appears in the dotted line intermediate positions shown in Fig. 2 so that the curved lid, the extent or" the crown of which is evident from the side views thereof in Figs. 1 and 2, can have the hinging movement illustrated, the extent of ourvature of the lid making ordinary or even specially designed pintle hinges impractical. It is important to note that in the closed position shown in Fig. 1, there are no parts of the hinge units projecting downwardly into the luggage space. l-Ience, there is no danger of scraping or even. puncturing articles placed in the trunk compart: ment. The fact that the springs 32 and 32 are stretched in the lowering of the lid to the extent easily seen by comparison of Fig. 2 with l. is of advantage not only from the standpoint. of counter-balancing the lid against droppingvie.- lently by gravity, but also from the standpoint of assisting the operator in lifting. the lid later and, inasmuch as the line of action of the springs in their most extended condition, as. shown at a-b in Fig. l, is substantially on a dead-cemaer with respect to the arms 19 and I9, these springs; offer no appreciable resistance to the initial lifting of the lid and. yet their pull becomes available. promptly thereafter to assist in lifting the lid- The operator cannot damage the hinges by care.-

- lessly or recklessly operating thelid, because. as.

soon as the links 2'! and 21 strike the stops 3-3; and 33, in the manner shown inFig. 2, there can be no further opening movement of the lid. in that way the gear segments 22-23 and 22-235. are assured of remaining in meshed engagement- In Fig. i, I have shown the application-.ofsmy invention to the hood Ha on. the front. end. oi' an automobile, the body of which. is indicated at Ida. Inasmuch as the hinges are of substan tially identical. construction to the units t2. and it just described, corresponding parts on the unit l2a have been numbered to. correspond with. the numbering of the unit i2 in Fig; 1', arms i211 and i to corresponding toarms i8- and lildnzFigl, and so forth. There are, of course, two' hinge units We and its of left and.- right hand, but otherwise of identical construction, having; one butt, like the butt mounted onthe dash. in opposite sides of the engine compartment and. the other butt, like the butt iEa, attached to the. under side of the hood Ha on opposite sides of the rear portion thereof. The ledge, over which. the rear portion of the hood lies in its closed. position, is indicated at sic and the compressible sealing strip at 33a, there being other sealing; strips corresponding to the strips ti previouslymentioned provided along opposite sides and across the front of the engine compartment to provide a weather-tight seal all around the hood. inv its closed position. The operation. of the hinges in this application is substantially the; same as described above for the lid application- It is believed the foregoing description conveys; a good understanding of the. objects and tages; ofmy invention..-The appended...claims-.

1' 5 havebeen' drawn to cover all legitimate modifications and adaptations.

I claim:

a Means for pivotally connecting two meme bers, comprising two arms pivoted at one end on the first of said members at two points in spaced relation and having gear connections at their pivoted endsso as to turn in opposite directions, one of said arms being pivotally connected at its free end to the second member at one point, a link pivotally connected at one. end to the free end oithe other arm and having its other end pivotally connected to the second member at another pointin spaced relation to the other pivotal connection thereon, and a stop on the second member arranged to be engagedby said link when the members have been moved apart a predetermined distance, whereby positively to limit such movement.

2. Means for pivotally connecting two members, comprising two arms pivoted at one end on the first of said members at two points in spaced relationand having gear connections at their pivoted ends so as to turn in opposite directions, one of said arms being pivotally connected at its free end to the second member at one point, a link'pivotally connected at one end to the free end of the other arm and having its other end pivotally connected to the second member at another point in spaced relation to the other pivotal connection thereon, and a tension spring connected at one end to the outer end of one of said arms and at its other end to the first member at a point so spaced from said arm that the spring is stretched in the swinging movement of said arms away from one another and reaches substantially a dead-center position relative to the arm associated therewith when the two pivotally related members reach an extreme position relative to one another.

3. In combination, a first butt adapted for association with one of two pivotally related members, a second butt associated with the other of said members, means forming a pivotal connection between said hinge butts comprising two arms pivoted at one end on the first of said'butts at two points in spaced relation and having gear connections at their pivoted ends so as to turn in opposite directions, one of said arms being pivotally connected at its free end to the second butt at one point, a link pivotally connected at its one end to the free end of the other arm and having its other end pivotally connected to the second butt at another point in spaced relation to the other pivotal connection thereon, and a. tension spring connected at its one end to the outer end of one of said arms and at its other end to the first butt at a point so spaced from said arm that the spring is stretched in the swinging movement of said arms away from one another and reaches substantially a dead-center position relative to the arm associated therewith when the two pivotally related members reach one of two extreme positions.

4. In combination, a first butt adapted for association with one of two pivotally related members, a second butt associated with the other of said members, means forming a pivotal connection between said hinge butts comprising two arms pivoted at one end on the first of said butts at two points in spaced relation and having gear connections at their pivoted ends so as to turn in opposite directions, one of said arms being pivotally connected at its free end to the second butt at one point, a link pivotally connected at its one end to the free end of the 6 other arm; and having its other end pivotally connected to the second butt at another point in spaced relation to the other pivotal connec-,

tion thereon, a stop on the secondbutt arranged tobe engaged by said link when the butts have,

been moved apart a predetermined distance, whereby positively to, limit the opening movement, and a tension spring connected at its one end to the outer end of one of said arms and at its other end to the first butt at a point so spaced from said arm that the spring is stretched in hinge butt, a second hinge butt, and means forming a pivotal connection between said hinge butts comprising two arms pivoted at one end on the first of said butts at two points in spaced relation and having gear connections at their pivoted ends so as to turn in opposite directions, a post being included in the pivotal mounting of one of said arms on said first butt and that arm being pivotally connected at its free end to the second butt at one point, a link pivotally connected by means of a pin to the free end of the other arm and having its other end pivotally connected to the second butt at another point in spaced relation to the other pivotal connection thereon, and a tension spring connected at its opposite ends to said post and pin.

6. A hinge comprising, in combination, a first hinge butt, a second hinge butt, and means forming a pivotal connection between said hinge butts comprising two arms pivoted at one end on the first of said butts at two points in spaced relation and having gear connections at their pivoted ends so as to turn in opposite directions, a post being included in the pivotal mounting of one of said arms on said first butt and that arm being pivotally connected at its free end to the second butt at one point, a link pivotally connected by means of a pin to the free end of the other arm and having its other end pivotally connected to the second butt at another point in spaced relation to the other pivotal connection thereon, a tension spring connected at its opposite ends to said post and pin, and a stop on the second butt arranged to be engaged by said link when the butts have been moved apart a predetermined distance, whereby positively to limit the opening movement.

'7. A pivotal connection and support means for two members comprising two arms each pivoted adjacent one end on the first of said members, a geared driving connection between said ends of the arms, one of said arms pivotally connected at its other end to the second member, and a link pivotally connected at one end to the free end of the other arm and at its other end to the second member.

8. Means for pivotally connecting two members, comprising two arms pivoted at one end on the first of said members at two points in spaced relation and having gear connections at their pivoted ends so as to turn in opposite directions, one of said arms being pivotally connected at its free end to the second member at one point, and a link pivotally connected at one end to the free end of the other arm and having its other end pivotally connected to the second member at another point in spaced relation to the other pivotal connection thereon.

7, 9; Means for pivotally connecting two mam-'- b'ers, comprising two arms pivoted at one" end on the first of said members at two points inspaced relation and having gear connections at their pivoted ends so as to turn in" opposite directions, one of said arms being pivotally connected at its free end to the second member at one point, a linkpivotally' connected at one end to the free end'of the other arm and having its other end pivotaliy connected to the secondrnember at another point in spaced relation to the other pivotal-connection thereon-,enda tension spring connected at one end to the outer end of one of said arms and at its other end to the first member at a pointso spaced from said arm that the spring is stretched in the swinging movement at said arms away from one another.

' 10*; Means for pivotal-1 y connecting two members comprising two. armspivoted at one end on the first of said members at two points in spaced relation and having gear connections at their pivoted ends so as to turn incpposite directions. one of'sa-id erms-beingpi-votallyconnected at its free end to the second member at one point, a link pivotally connected at one end to the free end of the other arm and having its other end pivotally connected to the second member" atonother point in spaced relation to the other piv otal connection thereon, a stop on the second member arranged to be engaged by said link when the members have been moved apart a; predetermined distance, whereby positively to limit such movement, and a tension spring con nected at one end to the outer end of one of said arms and at its other end to the first member at a point so spaced from said arm that the spring is stretched in the swinging movement of said arms away from one another and reaches sunstantial-ly a dead-center position relative to the arm associated therewith when the two pivotally related members reach anextreme position reia tive to one another. I

WALTER R. LUSTIG.

References Cited in theme of this patent Ncrthup Sept. 27', 1938 

